Chamisa is giving Mnangagwa a run for his money in Zimbabwe election

By Gwynne DyerJul. 30, 2018

So are these ambitious, frustrated young men and women more likely vote for dour, 75-year-old Emmerson Mnangagwa, who bears the stains of almost every crime committed in Mugabe’s long rule, or for a quick-witted, humorous, 40-year-old newcomer called Nelson Chamisa? Stay tuned.

Emmerson Dambudzo Mnangagwa, left, pictured with former South African president Jacob Zuma. Three months ago, Mr. Mnangagwa led the new MDC leader, Nelson Chamisa, by 11 points in the opinion polls, but by last week his lead had shrunk to only three per cent. Photograph courtesy of Flickr

LONDON, U.K.—“I am as soft as wool. I am a very soft person in life,” Emmerson Dambudzo Mnangagwa told the BBC in a recent interview, but his nickname is ‘The Crocodile’. There is probably no more ruthless person active in Zimbabwe’s politics, and three months ago he looked like a shoo-in to win the presidential election due to be held on 30 July.

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